H.R. No. 1783
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, A 90th birthday is a pretty significant milestone
for any Texan, but Russell Louden of Canton
celebrated the arrival
of his ninth decade in high style, by jumping out of a perfectly
good airplane over South Padre Island on January 19, 2013; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Louden had wanted to be a paratrooper during
World War II, but the jump school had been closed to officers, so he
was forced to wait 70 years to fulfill his ambition of becoming a
skydiver; and
WHEREAS, On the day of his jump, Mr. Louden was accompanied
by 20 friends to the island, where they congregated at a local
establishment to offer him encouragement; thus encouraged,
Mr. Louden took off from Brownsville South Padre Island
International Airport and, with the assistance of staff members of
Skydive South Padre, successfully jumped from 11,000 feet; in so
doing, he accomplished two remarkable things: becoming the oldest
person ever to skydive on South Padre Island and surviving to
celebrate his actual birthday five days later, on January 24; and
WHEREAS, This lively and popular gentleman has also been
riding motorcycles for 72 years; he first conceived of the plan of
skydiving for his 90th birthday a year ago, and shortly before the
day itself, he arrived at Skydive South Padre on his Honda 750 to
pay the deposit; and
WHEREAS, Just getting to 90 is an impressive achievement in
and of itself, but Mr. Louden has made it even more special with his
fearlessness and sense of adventure; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas
Legislature hereby congratulate Russell Louden on the most
impressive 90th birthday celebration ever and extend to him sincere
best wishes for continued happy landings; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be created
for Mr. Louden, if we can catch up with him, as an expression of
high regard by the Texas House of Representatives.
Flynn
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 1783 was adopted by the House on May
8, 2013, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House